The Q and U Wedding

All dressed and ready to go!

The entire wedding party.

A bit blurry but still so obvious how serious they all were!

Another blurry shot but look at how happy Analiese was coming down the aisle!

The bride and groom from the 2004 Q and U wedding!

Today we, once again, were privelged to celebrate the wedding of Q and U! This is a kindergarten staple at our school (though Gracie's teacher did not participate when Grace was in kindergarten). To reinforce the concept that U always follow Q in words, the teachers hold a wedding, complete with invitations, ceremony and reception where Mr Alpha and Mrs Bet celebrate the "union" of their children.

Each child has a part, from the bride (Q) and groom (U) to the minister, the best man and maid-of-honor to mother of the bride. The classes practice several weeks for the big event! There is a procession, some songs and of course the exchange of vows and rings before the children and their guests (parents, siblings and grandparents) return to the classroom to enjoy the reception.

Oh, I cannot forget, the bride and groom leave the ceremony in a battery-powered jeep, decorated for the occasion! It is a wonderful event and the kids talk about it, both before and after. They never, absolutely NEVER forget that Q is always followed by U in words.

For today's event, Analiese was the maid-of-honor. She just could not wait to get dressed up and walk down the cafeteria aisle to her spot on the stage. She smiled and smiled the entire time.

The kindergarten classes paired up to share the events as we have 10 classes and it was just impossible to dedicate 2 full weeks to individual ceremonies! Analiese's class includes several special needs children as does the class that they teamed up with. It was quite emotional to see some of the children come into the cafeteria pushing their classmates in their wheelchairs. One little boy, who has a severe brain injury from an accident that killed his brother and uncle, was clearly enjoying the attention.

As the lead teacher for these special needs children I was more emotional watching them then I was with Analiese! I'm tempted to send some of the photos to our President so he can put faces to the children he insulted when he responded that his bowling skills were akin to something out of the "special olympics"!

Five years ago we also celebrated the wedding of Q and U with Sarah. In that ceremony she was the bride. What has happened to her relationship with the groom? They are still close friends and the groom is still quite smitten with his bride!